CHAPTER 2 – THE MAN WHO LOST EVERYTHING
CHAPTER 2 – THE MAN WHO LOST EVERYTHING
Dominic stared at the glowing phone screen as though the words might rearrange themselves.
Enjoy the family you chose.
"No..." he whispered.
Paige laughed from the bedroom doorway, still wrapped in Audrey's silk robe.
"Who keeps calling this late? Is your wife begging to come back already?"
He didn't answer.
His hands trembled so violently that the phone slipped onto the hardwood floor.
"What happened?" Paige asked, her smile fading.
Dominic looked at her with empty eyes.
"She was... pregnant."
The room fell silent.
"What?"
"The doctor said Audrey was eight weeks pregnant." His voice cracked. "She lost the baby."
Paige's face turned pale.
"But... that's impossible."
Before Dominic could respond, another sentence echoed through his mind.
You are sterile.
He had secretly taken fertility tests a month earlier after Victoria constantly complained that Audrey "couldn't give the family an heir."
The results had never reached him because he had been away on business.
Now the truth arrived like a death sentence.
He could never father a child.
Which meant...
The baby Audrey carried had been nothing short of a miracle.
And he had never even known.
His knees buckled.
For the first time in years, Dominic Ashford cried.
Victoria stormed downstairs when she heard the crash.
"What on earth is going on?"
Dominic slowly looked up.
"You pushed Audrey."
Victoria folded her arms.
"She slipped."
"No."
"Dominic—"
"You pushed my pregnant wife."
Victoria's confident expression faltered for the first time.
"Who told you she was pregnant?"
"The hospital."
She remained silent.
"You knew?" Dominic demanded.
"Of course I didn't know."
"You shoved her anyway."
Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Oh, stop acting as if she's dead. Women lose pregnancies every day."
The slap echoed through the mansion.
Victoria staggered backward, clutching her cheek in disbelief.
"You hit me?"
Dominic stared at his own shaking hand.
"I should have protected her."
Paige gasped.
"Dominic!"
"Get out."
She blinked.
"What?"
"I said get out of my house."
Paige crossed her arms.
"You invited me here."
"I was wrong."
"You can't be serious."
"I buried my marriage tonight."
She scoffed.
"So now you're choosing your wife?"
Dominic laughed bitterly.
"I don't think I have a wife anymore."
At seven the next morning, Dominic raced to St. Helena Memorial Hospital.
Room 512.
Empty.
The bed had already been stripped.
The flowers Victoria had sent sat untouched in the trash.
He rushed to the nurses' station.
"Where's Audrey Ashford?"
The nurse recognized him immediately.
"You mean the husband?"
"Yes."
Her expression became cold.
"She left."
"Where?"
"We're not permitted to disclose that."
"I'm her husband!"
"No."
She slid a sealed envelope across the counter.
"Not anymore."
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
The divorce petition.
Already signed.
Along with his wedding ring.
Nothing else.
No explanation.
No goodbye.
Only one sentence written neatly across the bottom.
You never lost me yesterday, Dominic. You lost me one cruel choice at a time.
His chest tightened.
For years he had believed Audrey would forgive anything.
Now he realized she had simply reached the end.
Across the city...
Audrey stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of a private penthouse overlooking the skyline.
Sophia entered carrying several thick folders.
"The emergency orders have been approved."
Audrey remained silent.
"Every bank account connected to Sterling Horizon Holdings has been frozen."
"What about Ashford Construction?"
Sophia smiled faintly.
"The board meeting begins in two hours."
"And Dominic?"
"He still believes he owns the company."
Audrey finally turned.
A calmness had replaced the heartbreak in her eyes.
"He doesn't."
Sophia opened the first folder.
"Your sixty-two percent ownership has been verified. The directors have already agreed to recognize you as majority shareholder."
"What happens to him today?"
Sophia looked at the financial reports.
"He walks into work as CEO."
She closed the folder.
"And walks out unemployed."
For the first time since losing her baby...
Audrey allowed herself one quiet breath.
"This isn't revenge."
Sophia nodded.
"I know."
"It's accountability."
At exactly nine o'clock, Dominic entered the executive boardroom.
Something felt wrong immediately.
Every director avoided his eyes.
His personal assistant wouldn't even look at him.
At the head of the table sat a woman he had never seen before.
Elegant navy suit.
Silver-framed glasses.
Confident smile.
Sophia Sterling.
She rose slowly.
"Good morning, Mr. Ashford."
"Who are you?"
"I'm legal counsel for the majority shareholder."
Dominic frowned.
"What majority shareholder?"
Without answering, Sophia slid a leather folder across the polished table.
He opened it.
The color drained from his face.
Stock certificates.
Transfer agreements.
Corporate seals.
Every page bore the same owner's name.
Audrey Elizabeth Bennett.
His wife.
No...
His ex-wife.
Sophia calmly folded her hands.
"Effective immediately, the board has voted to remove you as Chief Executive Officer."
Dominic could barely breathe.
"This... this has to be a mistake."
"No."
"It can't be Audrey."
"It has always been Audrey."
Every executive in the room lowered their eyes.
Sophia delivered the final blow.
"The company you believed you built..."
She paused just long enough for the silence to become unbearable.
May you like
"...has belonged to your wife for the last two years."
Dominic's world shattered for the second time in less than twelve hours.
